Martyrdom of 1622

Martyrdom that occurred in Nagasaki in 1622 in which fifty-five people lost their lives. It was also known as o grande martírio de Nagasáqui [the Grand Martyrdom of Nagasaki], being distinguished from the other three that took place in the city in the same year. Although the martyrdom of 10 September reached more striking proportions, all the executions conducted in Nagasaki that year were triggered by the same event. In 1620, a Japanese ship coming from Manila was attacked by the English near Taiwan. Saved by Dutch ships, the crew was transported back to Japan. Upon arriving in Hirado, the captain of the ship filed a complaint with the Japanese authorities. In order to defend themselves from the accusations, the English sailors argued that the ship had been clandestinely carrying two missionaries. In the course of the investigation, one of the religious, the Augustinian Pedro Zuniga, confessed and was arrested immediately, as were the captain of the ship and two crew members. The other religious, Dominican Luis Flores, was placed under the custody of the Dutch until the end of the inquest. While incarcerated, an attempt to rescue him was planned by a member of his order and carried out by five Japanese. The plan, however, was not successful: the participants were captured, and some letters in their possession were confiscated, implicating six Portuguese merchants, including governor Jerónimo Macedo de Carvalho; they were also arrested for investigation. The concerns were communicated to the court, and the two mendicants, as well as the crew of the ship in which they had traveled, were condemned to death. As had been the case in the 1597 martyrdom, Nagasaki was the stage of the executions, though the events bore no direct relationship to the city. However, the majority of the ship´s sailors were either Nagasaki natives or residents. The martyrdom occurred on 19 August, 1622, as the two religious and the captain of the ship were condemned to be burnt alive and the twelve crew members were decapitated, as their crime was not deemed to be as serious. As a way of demonstrating their authority, the central Japanese power also decided to punish all who were involved in any way in similar instances of assisting religious. Thus, on 10 September of the same year, fifty-five persons were executed either by burning or by the sword. Twenty-four religious were on the roster of the convicted: eleven Dominicans, nine Jesuits, and four Franciscans, some of whom had been imprisoned for about three years. The remainder of the group comprised the religious´ hosts and their families, the respective goningum (alliance of five residents of the same street in which all were held accountable for the actions of its members). All were of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean origin; there also was a Portuguese-Japanese child of the Portuguese merchant, Domingos Jorge, who was executed by the Japanese authorities in 1619. As in the execution conducted on 19 August, this martyrdom was witnessed by a large crowd but a a high number of soldiers were also there to prevent any disturbances. After the executions, the bodies of the martyrs were watched for a few days, being burnt afterwards. Their ashes, along with the ashes of those who had died by fire later on, were spread on Nagasaki Bay, thus impeding any collecting of relics. On the day immediately prior, three more people lost their lives, and the last execution of the year was conducted on 2 October; the five japanese who had attempted to free Luis Flores were martyred, as were their families, totaling nine executions. 1622 was the year when a new phase emerged in the anti-Christian policy followed by the Japanese government, especially in regards to Nagasaki: if until then mostly the missionaries had been targeted, after the 1622 martyrdoms direct persecution of Christians with the goal of eradicating the community became the norm.

Bibliography:
Fernandes, Bento, Tratado dos gloriosos martyres que por defenção da fee de Christo Nosso Senhor derão suas Vidas, em Jappam no reino de Figen o anno de 1622 // feito pollo Padre Bento Fernandes da Companhia de Jesu, Biblioteca Pública de Évora, códice CXVI - 1-31; Charles R. Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan, Berkley-Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1967.

Translated by: Maria João Pimentel